The instant invention relates to safety eyewear and more particularly to safety eyewear having a one-piece wrap-around frame, a replaceable lens, and over-molded elastomeric features.
Growing awareness of eye safety and the implementation of regulations requiring the use of safety eyewear by all persons within manufacturing facilities has recently prompted development of a variety of fashion conscious safety eyewear products. In the past, most safety eyewear was designed from a purely utilitarian outlook and thus the designs tended to be bulky, and not very pleasing from an aesthetic perspective. However, aesthetic appearance such as fashion, color, and sporty looks, as well as utilitarian factors, such as replacement of the lens(es) and comfort are now being taken into consideration in the design of safety eyewear.
One particular issue that has not been fully addressed to date is the “racoon-eye” appearance of some dual-lens safety eyewear having thick eyewire portions extending entirely around the lenses. Most of the current designs for dual-lens safety eyewear comprise a one-piece plastic injection molded frame. In some designs the dual-lens safety eyewear requires a substantially thick eyewire surrounding the lens to safely retain the lens in place and provide sufficient impact strength. Because of the dark colors selected for most frames, the thick eyewires stand out and tend to impart the appearance of large rings around the user's eyes, hence the expression “racoon-eye” appearance.